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Adam Monroe
Adam Monroe or Takezo Kensei is the primary antagonist in Volume Two, portrayed by David Anders. He possesses the power of Rapid Cellular Regeneration (one of the only two characters in the show known to naturally possess this ability), which enabled him to live for centuries without aging. He was once a legendary Japanese swordsman and later became one of the founders of the Company and the mentor of Daniel Linderman. Due to his radical ideas and attempt to use the Shanti Virus to cause mass genocide and "halt humanity's endless cycle of destruction", the other founders saw him as dangerous and locked him up for thirty years, prompting him to start murdering them upon his escape. Volume One: "Genesis" In the first season, Takezo Kensei is only mentioned, as an ancient samurai of Japanese legend in stories told to Hiro Nakamura as a boy by his father. He is Hiro's greatest idol. The legend of Takezo Kensei is of a hero who possessed great power and drove the dreaded warlord White Beard out of Japan in the 17th century using a sword he found frozen in the snow and skills he learned from the dragon of Kiso Mountain. After he did this, the dragon came to him demanding his love in return for the skills it taught him and so he cuts out his own heart, giving it to the dragon instead, and dies. Volume Two: "Generations" Takezo Kensei Throughout his long life Adam took on many identities, the first of which being a 17th-century swordsman named Takezo Kensei who wielded a sword with his symbol, a commonly occuring theme throughout the series, engraved on its hilt. The symbol resembles half a DNA Helix and also represents two Japanese characters meaning "Great Talent" and "Godsend". This sword is later stolen and used by Hiro Nakamura in the present time. It's allegedly able to focus the weilder's power, but this is never explicitly confirmed in the series as it never has this effect while Kensei uses it and, while Hiro's lost powers are restored when he weilds it in the present time, he is later able to use his power without the sword again so it's not clear if it was the sword itself that had this effect on him.It is revealed when Hiro Nakamura unintentionally travels back in time to 17th-century Japan that Takezo Kensei is actually a selfish drunk who came to Japan from England seeking fortune. When Kensei and Hiro discover Kensei's power (rapid cellular regeneration) after he is attacked by bandits and miraculously heals, Hiro resolves to turn Kensei into the hero history needs him to be and he starts training to defeat White Beard and save Japan. Kensei gradually becomes a hero as he and Hiro work to stop White Beard, but after Hiro falls in love with Kensei's destined princess (Yaeko, the daughter of the blacksmith who forges Kensei's sword), Kensei, feeling betrayed, turns against Hiro and sides with White Beard. Hiro is forced to fight Kensei and supposedly kills him. Before his alleged death, Kensei tells Hiro that he will take away everything that he holds dear. When Hiro returns to Yaeko, she promises to spread the tale of the legendary Takezo Kensei so that the legend survives in the present as it was told to Hiro as a boy. Adam Monroe It is revealed that Kensei actually survived his showdown with Hiro and, due to his regenerative ability, was able to live for centuries without aging. He became one of the founding members of the Company in the 1970s before being locked up by his colleagues for attempting to release a deadly strain of the Shanti Virus onto the world. Thirty years later, he escapes with the help of Peter Petrelli who believes he wishes to destroy the virus. Adam then starts murdering the other founders of the Company, starting with Kaito Nakamura, Hiro's father. When Adam and Peter arrive at Primatech Paper in Texas where the virus is kept, Hiro shows up and teleports Adam away, locking him in a coffin buried underground, intending to imprison him forever. Volume Three "Villains" Release At the request of Angela Petrelli, Hiro releases Adam from his coffin prison in order for him to give them information about the Formula. Adam escapes from Hiro but is soon captured by Knox and taken to a paralyzed Arthur Petrelli on life support who proceeds to take away Adam's ability, causing him to rapidly age hundreds of years and crumble into dust.Category:Characters